2018 NRL.com Fantasy thread part 2

@Alfie wrote:G-day guys. Couldn't believe my luck when I found this forum after a couple years of quietly going about my business alone . It's taken me all day to sift through all the gold you guys have been writing. Can't wait to join some of the great chats you guys have and start this season positively. Side note: I am a die hard Seags fan if you want some ammo.

@mulvy wrote:Devil's advocate here. Cook at 9 no bench hooker, Lichaa at 9 no bench hooker, Garvey or Havili looking good for 50-60 minutes from trials,...... all the stars aligning, do I need to have CS9?

@Alfie wrote:I've noticed not many people have Fifita in their sides. Do you guys think he is past his 60+ days or are you just a lot keener on some of the mid range and cow options?

Every year I always start with Fifita but this year I'm not. Last year I noticed 2 things (a) he was over weight & (b) the first defender always went low on Fifita to tie up his legs & this dented his run metres. I'd rather spend the extra 1k & get Vaughan. This is just my opinion but I actually think Fifita is on the decline.

Every year I always start with Fifita but this year I'm not. Last year I noticed 2 things (a) he was over weight & (b) the first defender always went low on Fifita to tie up his legs & this dented his run metres. I'd rather spend the extra 1k & get Vaughan. This is just my opinion but I actually think Fifita is on the decline.

Also on Fifita there was a sc article before the 2017 season began that he was affected by the heat more than other big men. I know it's sc scoring but his day game scores were 5-10 points lower than his night game scores. This fact is logical because obviously the big men naturally struggle in the heat but Fifita seemed to struggle the most out of all the big props. So for those considering Fifita you should see how many day games he has at the start of the season.

Every year I always start with Fifita but this year I'm not. Last year I noticed 2 things (a) he was over weight & (b) the first defender always went low on Fifita to tie up his legs & this dented his run metres. I'd rather spend the extra 1k & get Vaughan. This is just my opinion but I actually think Fifita is on the decline.

I wasnt going to start with Fifita last season but after watching the All Stars game he went straight into my team. Unfortunately i paid massive overs for him when vaughan etc were matching/outscoring him.

This season im looking for better value for money but not sure yet. Surely jbrom can improve and i can see Graham to start well at his new club. Maybe klemmer joins the frf fantasy elite?

I wasnt going to start with Fifita last season but after watching the All Stars game he went straight into my team. Unfortunately i paid massive overs for him when vaughan etc were matching/outscoring him.

This season im looking for better value for money but not sure yet. Surely jbrom can improve and i can see Graham to start well at his new club. Maybe klemmer joins the frf fantasy elite?

The frf position is very hard to fill & each candidate poses question marks. Can J-Brom rediscover his fantasy form & get his offloading game going (that's if Bellamy lets him). J. Graham at a new club but how many minutes will he get with all the forwards the Dragons have plus Vaughan is the alpha prop plus Graham might be classed as injury prone these days. I am interested in Klemmer mainly due to his dpp but there's a good chance he'll be in the front row so his minutes will reduce especially since Woods & Tolman have big motors. Imo at this stage the only reliable frf that isn't expensive is McGuire. You know he'll get 55-60 minutes & he'll get a consistent 48-55 points each week playing lock plus he is a dpp. But for some reason I'm not warming to him because I have Lodge & don't want 2 Broncos forwards. I'm going cheap in the frf & loading up in other areas.

Twal is a better prop than the has beens Packer & Matulino. It would be crazy to play Twal for only 30 minutes.

Both are definitely past their prime but I'm sure Cleary didn't buy either of them with that mindset. He obviously thinks highly of them as a combination thinking back to 2011 when he coached them both.

So just a question regarding the bench & you're 4 reserves. I assume it's better to have your dpp's on the bench e.g. a dpp frf/2fr because then you're covering 2 positions if 1 of your frf's or 2fr's pulls out after lock out.

@White Lightning wrote:So just a question regarding the bench & you're 4 reserves. I assume it's better to have your dpp's on the bench e.g. a dpp frf/2fr because then you're covering 2 positions if 1 of your frf's or 2fr's pulls out after lock out.

Yes, wherever possible have DPPs on the bench and single position players in starting lineup.

I'm interested in Fonua-Blake if he pips Lussick to the starting spot. I'm thinking he would likely score at about 40 points a game regularly with the odd but not rare Fifita-type score. Am I being a bit over-zealous as a Manly fan?